Angels And Germans

When Theodore Roosevelt was fully prepared to unleash his war machine on the Confederate States, it is was with some sense of irony that it was a move that was calculated to impact his friends more than his enemies. It was also because of this factor that his top Generals, Pecos Bill Shafter being chief amongst them, were not so happy about the timing. The American General Staff was becoming very cautious at this point and they had good reason. The last three years of war had been taxing and the fact that nothing had gone as planned bred a certain sense of apprehension in the war rooms of the world.

Even the victory in Canada did little to offset this pessimism. The US had finally achieved a solid win but, the cost had been higher than anyone had ever dreamed possible. It also took three years when the original pre war plans had predicted only six months to a year. There was also the peace factor that had to be considered. Sure the US had won the campaign but, given the peace that Roosevelt had negotiated, many were starting to ask what had really been gained? There were some in the US who were quietly fearing that a Boulanger styled coup might take place in Washington as well. The first signs of it were already rearing it’s head in Russia so, these apprehensions seemed well founded. In the summer of 1901, it appeared to many as if the Entente was becoming unglued.

Naturally, the only man who did not seem to think this was Theodore Roosevelt. At the time, there were many who saw his unbridled optimism as the delusions of a wannabe savior who was rapidly sinking with his ship. There were many, John Hay chief amongst them, who thought that he was just insane. The old members of the administration, those who were primarily loyal to the late Elihu Root, were even beginning to openly talk of a conditional surrender to the allies. France was on the verge of capitulation, there were riots and demonstrations in the Russian capitol of St Petersburg where troops were being used to suppress their own civil population. If the stronger allies of the US fell, how long could they hope to hold out against the combined weight of the Allies?

Where many were seeing disaster on the horizon, it was quite clear that Roosevelt was seeing these events as an opportunity. Once again, Theodore was calculating more than just the all out military card that had, so far, proven useless. When his closest friends would even express their own doubts, Roosevelt pointed out that despite being decapitated, France was still in the war. He also understood that this was the key because, Roosevelt understood that France’s motivation was plain and simple fear. No matter what any Frenchman thought of his own internal politics, the one thing they could all agree on was that they did not want to be occupied by Germany once again. Roosevelt had been playing on that fear since Boulanger had fled to Belgium.

Of course, the problem faced by Roosevelt was that this fear would be useless as a tool if no one thought that the Entente could win the war. By the late summer of 1901 it was certainly starting to look that way, even if the reality was something else entirely. The fact was that the French Army was still holding it’s own against the Germans. While France had failed to make any substantial gains the reality was that Germany had not either nor, was it likely that they could. Without invading the low countries, something that politics now rendered impossible, the front was simply too narrow for either army to advance. Unfortunately, most people are not military experts and the situation looked far more grim to the average man on the streets of Paris.

What civilians do in times of war is largely the same thing they do in times of peace and that is they pay attention to the news. In 1901 this was largely the domain of the newspaper and, just like with the modern media, their primary objective is to make money and not report the actual news. Exceptions sell papers and with the war an every day constant, the headlines were not about that. In France, more people were reading about the endless conflict going on in their own government and those who were vying to be it’s new ruler. The fact that their own leaders could not reach a decision about who should be the head of state was just one more indicator to the French population that the war was all but lost. It reminded too many of the dark days of 1871, just after the collapse of the French army at the Sedan.

This situation was only aggravated by the almost constant aerial bombardment of French population centers. Despite the best efforts of the French military, the bombings were becoming almost constant. The German aim was also getting better as time went along and some secondary effects were beginning to show. The fact that French Zeppelins were doing the same to Germany was unimportant. The average Frenchman only seemed to care about what was happening to him and to hell with Germany. It was summed up by one newspaper column who said that, “the skies are no longer safe for angels because, now, only the Germans are brave enough to tread.”

This appraisal of the situation was not exactly accurate. The truth was that no one really controlled the sky, even if, both sides were using it. The zeppelins were unstoppable but, this was true of everyone’s zeppelins. Again, this was not a great concern to the people who had to cower in their basements every night. They wanted something done about the bombing and, if that meant surrender, many were talking openly of this. With no coordinated government effort to combat these rampant attitudes, France was slowly slipping out of the war.

It was with this in mind that the Roosevelt administration placed a top priority on urging the Ministry of Deputies to appoint a provisional leader. The problem was that the French were literally getting in their own way. The factions, which were divided between Communists, Republicans, Monarchists, Bonapartists, and even a few Anarchists, all had their own ideas, all saw this as a golden opportunity, and worst of all were relatively equal in numbers. Some of them were also as afraid of each other as they were the Germans.

The situation seemed to be a hopeless mess and one that was rapidly spiraling out of control as France began to descend into revolution. This is what Roosevelt waded into and he did so in the guise of a three hundred a fifty pound man by the name of William Howard Taft. The American diplomat did not show up in Paris unarmed. He came with the influence of his president, as much cash as was required, and a certain twenty three year old French exile by the name of Victor Jerome Fredrick Bonaparte.

Known as Napoleon the 5^th, by his supporters, Victor was something of an uninspiring little man with only one true attribute, that being his name. His supporters, which were not even unified in the Bonapartist camp, had been trying to crown Victor ever since the abdication of Louis Napoleon. Very little had come of it and Victor had been living in self imposed exile, as well as relative obscurity, ever since the rise of Boulanger. In the spring, of 1901, he also happened to be living two doors up from the cottage occupied by William Howard Taft, at Lake Geneva. Victor had moved there just before the war, from his more permanent home in Belgium, for fear that one side or both might invade his host country.

Victor was an odd choice for Roosevelt to back. Everyone who knew him, and this included Taft, had reported the boy to be dull, unimaginative, and less than charismatic. Taft even advised against it in at least three separate telegrams. John Hay, who had met the boy on several occasions, was absolutely livid over Roosevelt’s decision and refused to talk to the president for weeks. That was not a situation that Theodore was upset over even if, once again, people thought him insane, irrational, and reckless.

The fact was, Roosevelt was playing a bigger game and not one that was readily apparent to everyone, including his own secretary of state. Roosevelt had long since proven he was no fool, only, everyone kept forgetting this fact. Theodore had consumed every scrap of information, about the situation in Paris, that he could find. He had come to one inescapable conclusion and realized that the man he needed to reach was not named Victor Bonaparte. The real guy with the power was named Georges Clemenceau.

The problem with directly approaching Clemenceau was not that the man might be unreceptive and, in fact, he showed every sign that he was willing to have a dialogue with Roosevelt. The problem was that Clemenceau’s hands were tied due to the constant wrangling of multiple factions inside the Ministry of Deputies. For Clemenceau, direct communications with Washington could possibly label him as Revanche, particularly given Clemenceau’s past dealings with Boulanger. If this were to happen then Clemenceau’s support could evaporate in an instant and France would likely descend into anarchy because, as far as Theodore could see, Clemenceau was the only stabilizing factor there.

Napoleon V was Roosevelt’s offering to Clemenceau for a possible solution to the problems of both France and the United States. France was in dire need of a name like Bonaparte but, no one was willing to put up with the usual pains that went with it. With this in mind, suddenly, Victor’s liabilities became something of an asset. Because he was so young, seemingly dull, and less than leadership material, this also made him very unthreatening. Of course, none of this would have helped Victor ascend to the throne of a new empire had it not been for the real asset he was bringing to the table and that was American dollars. It was the combination of the two that made him a serious contender.

There was also another factor that was sitting in the way. Most of those sitting on the left side of the Ministry, did not want to do away with the Third Republic. Georges Clemenceau was first and foremost amongst them. This is where Taft became worth his weight in gold. Many thought him, due to his size, quite buffoonish but, this was very much an illusion. Having served as the representative to the Confederate States, Taft was now a seasoned diplomat who was quite used to dealing with issues of a very sensitive nature. He was also an expert litigator and he put both of these skills to use in Paris. No one knows if the idea originated with him or Roosevelt but, as Taft would later express, the problem came down to one side wanting a new empire and the other wanting the republic. What Taft would offer them was a compromise as he asked the logical question, “why not have both?”

The idea was one that Clemenceau could live with or, at least, until the crisis had passed. As he would tell many in his camp, this plan has worked in Britain for decades, why can’t we do it here? The basic idea was that Victor would be installed as a figure head emperor while the real power would rest with a President and the Ministry. Of course, both Victor and Georges had very different ideas about how that would work but, for the time being, it only had to appear to work and the rest could be figured out later. It was a workable solution to many but, unfortunately, it was not the main sticking point with a radicalized few.

There was a sizable faction on the left that realized the implications of such a compromise. Not only did it offend their political sensibilities but, they also knew that this new compromise government was nothing less than a referendum on the war itself. Most of these men were openly calling for an end to the war, suing for peace on any terms short of a German occupation. If that meant crossing the Americans and Russians then, so be it. At the time this seemed like a realistic option to many because, the Germans were loosing in Poland. It was thought that the Kaiser would gladly offer an acceptable peace to France if it meant freeing up troops to hold back an almost unstoppable Russian onslaught that had even gone so far as to threaten Berlin. Then came the news from Prussia.

The new German front commander, Field Marshall Von Molkte, had pulled off what seemed like nothing short of a miracle. His forces were on the verge of absolute defeat when two if his key division commanders, Hindenburg and Ludendorff, accomplished something thought impossible. Not only had they stopped the Russians cold, in an obscure forest just south of Konigsberg but, they had counter attacked, surrounded an entire Russia Army group, and completely destroyed it. The Russian army now found itself with considerable gaps in it’s line, entire divisions deserting en mass, and a sudden reversal was quickly developing that might spell the end of Czar Nicholas and the Russian war effort.

In Washington, most saw this grim news as the beginning of the end. In the White House, for those around the President, it looked to be yet another example of Roosevelt’s growing insanity. When Roosevelt was informed of the collapse of the Russian Front, Theodore stood up, pounded his fists on his desk, gave a big toothy grin that he was so famous for, and then proclaimed, “god bless that Molkte! By Jingo, if he was here I would pin a medal on him! Bully!”

Leonard Wood recorded this incident and even he admitted to be at a complete loss as to why his long time friend would be so happy about the news. Roosevelt did not waste any time by explaining himself but, instead, he went right to the telegraphs in the next room and began firing off a storm of paper to Paris. His most important wires were his first direct communications with Clemenceau. He asked the man bluntly, “what do you think your chances with the Germans are now?”

Clemenceau was equally direct in his response, “I am afraid desperation grows by the hour.”

Roosevelt replied quickly, “we can still win this war.”

Clemenceau was not so optimistic in his response but, he did manage to ask, “and how do you propose to do this?”

Again, the American President kept it short and blunt, “I do not propose anything but to show you.” In a flash of the dramatic he did add, “you can either choose to dare mighty things or, be amongst the poor timid souls who know neither the sweet flavor of victory or the vile taste of defeat. The choice is yours.”

At that point, Theodore went from telegraph to telephone. He called across the river to Fort Lincoln and talked directly with General Shafter. His words were recorded in both Shafter’s book and several journals of those who were present at the White House. Roosevelt eagerly told his top soldier, “General, it is time. Let all hell fly and god be merciful on those poor souls who stand in our way because I don’t expect you to be.”

The day that every Confederate citizen had lived in fear of, for four decades, was about to happen. It would be felt well beyond the borders of the CSA.